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This invention relates to a method and apparatus for simultaneous automated loading and unloading of a plurality of disc handling machines, such as disc drives or compact disc recording (xe2x80x9cCDRxe2x80x9d) units, for the repetitive mass recording of compact discs, digital video discs, or other similar media. The present invention incorporates as part of a rotatable disc delivery component my previous invention, U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,692, for picking a single compact disc from a stack of blank compact discs and loading the selected disc into a predetermined platter bay. The rotatable disc delivery component also functions to pick a single recorded compact dick from a predetermined platter bay and depositing the recorded disc into a recorded disc module.
Existing equipment for loading and unloading disc handling machines is unnecessarily time consuming with considerable unutilized machine downtime as a result of these inefficiencies, and it remains desirable to find a low-cost, simple solution to this problem.
Present volume copying onto digital compact discs presents significant inefficiencies in disc drive utilization. Loading and unloading multiple disc drives or CDR units using existing methods and apparatus results in drive down-time while the automated loading devices empty and load each individual drive or CDR unit in succession. For multiple drive or CDR unit systems, this downtime can be as much as three to ten minutes, depending upon the mechanism and drive or CDR unit loading geometry employed by the system. Over the course of recording one thousand discs, this underutilization of recording drives or CDR units can limit the productivity and usefulness of the system from approximately three to eight hours.
The existing methods and apparatus also present delays and inefficiencies in handling recorded disc output, labeling and segregation.
In accordance with the invention claimed, one embodiment of a method and apparatus for automated simultaneous loading and unloading multiple disc drives during bulk recording operations of digital compact discs is provided in a novel construction and procedure that overcomes the deficiencies and limitations of prior art.
It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for concurrent copying of recordable digital compact discs.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an improved apparatus and method for simultaneous automated loading of a plurality of disc handling machines.
Another object of this invention is to provide such an improved apparatus and method for automated simultaneous loading of multiple disc recording devices or CDR units.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide such an improved apparatus and method for automated simultaneous unloading of multiple disc recording devices or CDR units.
A further object of this invention to increase the recording drive utilization during multiple, automated bulk disc recording operations.
Still another object of this invention is to improve the blank disc and recorded disc handling and storing efficiency during multiple, automated bulk disc recording operations.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide improved spatial and functional efficiencies during multiple, automated bulk disc recording operations.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an improved apparatus and method for simultaneous automated unloading of a plurality of disc handling machines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method to minimize underutilized machine downtime for a plurality of disc handling machines during bulk disc recording routines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method to improve machine efficiency for a plurality of disc handling machines during bulk disc recording routines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method to eliminate tedium associated with manual or direct human supervision of bulk disc recording routines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method to eliminate human error associated with manual or direct human supervision of bulk disc recording routines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method to eliminate labor costs associated with manual or direct human supervision of bulk disc recording routines.
Related object and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.
Other features, advantages, and objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.